Profiles

Years transpired between initial arrest and exoneration - 5
Cause of Wrongful Conviction - Witness with incentive to testify/prove guilt
Exoneration Date - December 10, 2001

In 1997, Dwight Labran, a 24-year-old black man with no prior convictions, was convicted of first-degree murder in New Orleans. The only purported witness to the killing was the owner of the car in which the body was found, who named Dwight as the shooter. Dwight had an alibi: he was in a restaurant on the other side of town, eating dinner with some of his family. Nonetheless, on the basis of the testimony of the sole eyewitness, Dwight was convicted and sentenced to life without parole after the jury could not agree as to whether he should receive the death penalty.

After IPNO became involved, further investigation revealed that the sole eyewitness and owner of the car in which the body was found had lied about his identity. At the time of the killing, he had outstanding warrants for offenses involving firearms and cocaine. By giving a false name and fingering Dwight as the killer, he not only avoided becoming a suspect, but also avoided getting arrested for his own outstanding warrants. None of this evidence was presented at trial.

IPNO filed a 90-page application for post conviction relief, and the conviction was reversed on the basis of the perjury of the eyewitness. In 2001, the district attorney dropped the charges, and Dwight was released on December 10, 2001. Dwight was IPNO's first exoneree.